The Syntax of Argument Structure

✍ Scribed by Leonard H. Babby

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 327
• Series: Cambridge Studies in Linguistics
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Each verb in natural language is associated with a set of arguments, which are not systematically predictable from the verb's meaning and are realized syntactically as the projected sentence's subject, direct object, etc. Babby puts forward the theory that this set of arguments (the verb's 'argument structure') has a universal hierarchical composition which directly determines the sentence's case and grammatical relations. The structure is uniform across language families and types, and this theory is supported by the fact that the core grammatical relations within simple sentences of all human languages are essentially identical. Babby determines and empirically justifies the rigid hierarchical organization of argument structure on which this theory rests. The book uses examples taken primarily from Russian, a language whose complex inflectional system, free word order, and lack of obligatory determiners make it the typological polar opposite of English.

✦ Table of Contents

Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 6
Title......Page 9
Copyright......Page 10
Dedication......Page 11
Contents......Page 13
Abbreviations......Page 17
Introduction......Page 21
1.0 Introduction......Page 31
1.1 The internal structure of the diathesis......Page 33
1.2 The hierarchical organization of argument structure......Page 38
1.3 The autonomy of the theta and categorial tiers......Page 39
1.4 External subcategorization......Page 43
1.4.1 The typology of external arguments......Page 44
1.5 The final form of the diathesis......Page 46
1.5.1 The theta tier’s fourth position......Page 47
1.5.3 Passivization in Russian......Page 48
1.6.1 The universal law of diathesis conservation......Page 52
1.6.2 The mapping between argument structure and syntactic structure......Page 53
1.7 Projected syntactic asymmetries......Page 56
1.8 Monadic verbs......Page 57
1.8.1 The impersonal ~ derived unaccusative alternation......Page 60
1.9 Causativization and the universal architecture of the diathesis......Page 65
1.9.1 Language-specific diversity......Page 70
1.10 Romance causativization......Page 72
1.11 Nominalization and causativization......Page 74
1.11.1 The properties of Russian derived nominals......Page 76
1.11.2 The by-phrase in derived nominal phrases......Page 77
1.11.3 The by-phrase in causative sentences and derived nominal phrases......Page 78
1.11.4 The nominalization of monotransitive verbs......Page 82
1.11.5 The possessive genitive in derived nominals......Page 86
1.12 Constraints on alternations......Page 87
1.13 Arguments, adjuncts, and complex predicates......Page 89
1.14 Theta-role conversion......Page 91
1.15 Concluding remarks......Page 92
2.0 Introduction......Page 94
2.1 Russian adjectives......Page 95
2.2 The predicate LF paradox......Page 98
2.3 Dedicated and understood subjects......Page 100
2.4 The syntactic properties of the LF and SF......Page 102
2.5 The structure of SF small clauses......Page 103
2.6 The control of depictive adjectives......Page 104
2.6.1 Object-controlled aPi......Page 107
2.6.2 Russian noun phrases......Page 108
2.7 The predicate LF......Page 109
2.8 Head suppression......Page 113
2.9 nP diagnostic I: agreement with vy ‘you (polite)’......Page 115
2.10 nP diagnostic II: third person personal pronouns......Page 116
2.10.1 tak + SF and takoj + LF......Page 117
2.11 nP diagnostic III: the predicate genitive......Page 118
2.12 nP diagnostic IV: kak + nP<i>......Page 120
2.13 Predicate nominals with unsuppressed heads......Page 123
2.14 aP<i> adjoined to nP......Page 127
2.15 The derivation of -en- participles......Page 130
2.15.1 Departicipial -enn- adjectives......Page 134
2.16.1 buduči + SF......Page 135
2.17 Summary......Page 142
3.0 Introduction......Page 143
3.1 The syntactic representation of hybrid categories......Page 144
3.2 Participles in Russian......Page 147
3.2.1 -šč-participles and -en-participles......Page 151
3.2.2 The interaction of external-argument altering suffixes......Page 154
3.2.3 Accusative case assignment......Page 157
3.2.4 Reflexive binding in participle phrases......Page 161
3.2.5 -em-participles......Page 163
3.3 Hybrid adverbials in Russian......Page 168
3.3.1 Earlier analyses of gPi......Page 171
3.3.2 The s-predicate analysis of hybrid adverbials......Page 172
3.4.1 gPi in participle phrases......Page 176
3.5 gPi in infinitive projections......Page 179
3.5.1 SAMi in infinitival complements......Page 182
3.5.2 Agreement of SAMi adjoined to gPi......Page 185
3.6 Hybrid adverbials in derived nominals......Page 188
3.7 Hybrid adverbials in passive sentences......Page 189
4.0 Introduction......Page 192
4.1 Independent infinitive clauses......Page 196
4.2 Control......Page 197
4.3 Nonfinite verbal categories......Page 199
4.4 Subject control and infinitive s-predicates......Page 201
4.4.1 Subject-controlled infinitive clauses......Page 203
4.5 Object control......Page 206
4.5.1 Infinitive clauses with overt dative subjects......Page 208
4.6 The case agreement and binding of kPi......Page 210
4.6.1 The default nominative......Page 214
4.7 Diachronic change in progress: object-controlled infinitive s-predicates......Page 215
4.7.1 Depictive adjectives in infinitive complements......Page 216
4.8.1 Infinitive complements of nouns......Page 219
4.8.2 Infinitives with complementizers......Page 221
4.8.3 Infinitive clauses as subjects......Page 222
4.8.4 Conjoined subject-controlled infinitive complements......Page 223
4.9 Hybrid adverbials in infinitive complements......Page 225
4.10 Nominative direct objects in Old Russian infinitive clauses......Page 228
4.11 obeščat’ ‘to promise’......Page 233
4.12 The bare infinitive complement of auxiliary verbs......Page 240
4.12.1 Infinitive complements of impersonal verbs......Page 244
5.1 The distribution of the PI, LF, and SF......Page 248
5.2 The Bailyn–Bowers hypothesis......Page 251
5.3 The PI in the light of the LF and SF......Page 252
5.4 Evidence that PIs head bare adjective phrases: argument I......Page 254
5.4.1 The case of predicate adjectives in infinitive clauses......Page 256
5.5 Buduči + PI predicate adjectives: argument II......Page 257
5.5.1 Diathetic composition vs. syntactic merger......Page 259
5.6 Evidence that PIs head s-predicates: argument I......Page 263
5.7 Byt’ + PI: argument II......Page 265
5.7.1 An anomalous agreement pattern?......Page 268
5.8 Assigning the PI......Page 269
5.9 Licensing the PI......Page 271
5.10 Depictive adjectives in infinitive clauses......Page 273
Introduction......Page 280
1 The structure of argument structure......Page 282
2 The argument structure of adjectives......Page 293
3 Hybrid verbal adjuncts......Page 297
4 The derivation and control of infinitives......Page 303
5 Deriving the predicate instrumental......Page 308
Bibliography......Page 311
Index......Page 322

✦ Subjects

Языки и языкознание;Лингвистика;Синтаксис;